BASIS Independent McLean (BIM) debuted its new mascot as the Red-Tailed Hawk. Staff and students voted on five mascot candidates and the winning selection was the Red-Tailed Hawks. Two BIM students helped create the draft design for the Red-Tailed Hawks for their communication journal: Kelley Wang, an 11th grader representing upper school, and Grace Araya, a 4th grader representing the lower school. For more information on the school go to http://mclean.basisindependent.com or call 703.854.1253.

After learning that their initial mascot selection was the same as their sister school, the school launched a mascot petition and voting procedure, presenting a learning opportunity by BIM math teachers by using vote data for a lesson on bar graphs with some of the primary students.

“The process in re-naming our mascot by petition and vote became not just a fun and engaging activity for the students, but we were able to talk about it as an educational opportunity as well, learning about debate, persuasion and the power of democracy,” said Megan Campion, BASIS Independent McLean’s director of student affairs for lower school.

ABOUT BASIS INDEPENDENT MCLEAN, VA: BASIS Independent McLean, a preschool through grade 12 private school founded in 2016, is part of the BASIS Curriculum Schools network, which is among the best in the world. The acclaimed BASIS Curriculum has cultivated excellent student outcomes every year since its founding in 1998, educating students at the highest international levels and preparing them to be participants, not spectators, in the 21st century global workforce of commerce and innovation. The network currently includes 31 schools: 24 public charter schools in Arizona, Texas, and Washington, D.C., five independent schools in California, New York, and Virginia, and two international schools in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, China. For more information, please visit BASISIndependent.com or BASISed.com.